An unofficial, eclectic, mostly tangential, view of aspiring devotee life.
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Cows may come, cows may go, but the bull is always here.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

All The Things You Should’ve Done

“The material creations are manifested for some time as perverted shadows of the spiritual kingdom and can be likened to cinemas. They attract people of less intelligent caliber who are attracted by false things. Such foolish men have no information of the reality, and they take it for granted that the false material manifestation is the all in all. But more intelligent men guided by sages like Vyasa and Narada know that the eternal kingdom of God is more delightful, larger, and eternally full of bliss and knowledge.”

SB 1.1.17

There was a period when I used to spend some time with some Lakota (a Native American nation) religious guys. One of them was fond of saying that there is culture, religion, and spirituality, and you need to know the difference. When he was asked one time what is spirituality, he replied, “Don’t take things for granted.”

We see things being taken for granted all the time. How many take it for granted that they should chant gayatri 3 times a day, but never really think about what they are chanting and take the rising and the setting of the sun for granted? How many hop into a car and drive somewhere for groceries and never think of how it came about they could do so and what the long term consequences are? Try going through your day and watch how you take things for granted.

Lakota warriors would sometimes greet the sunrise by chanting “It is a good day to die!” This was not some negative self destructive or depressive thing. It was about embracing life and being so fulfilled at that moment that death held no fear. Marken has this tattooed on his heal.

she is, as they all are,inevitably vulnerablea filament charged with light,breakable with just the wrong handling

so we fuss around her, unbuckling thisand plugging in that,with the upwards monitor glanceshared between us as her storyplays out in blue and yellowand red

and i can’t talk to you yet,because i’m stealing timewith your daughter from you;it’s a transaction, i takefour hours, because i thinkperhaps i mightbe able to transfix her onrushing losswith my drugs and devices

(and you sit by the door,clear of the carnage,wondering aboutall the things you should’ve done)

A devotee should not see anything as being separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. Ether, fire, air, water, earth, the sun and other luminaries, all living beings, the directions, trees and other plants, the rivers and oceans -- whatever a devotee experiences he should consider to be an expansion of Krsna.
Thus seeing everything that exists within creation as the body of the Supreme Lord, Hari, the devotee should offer his sincere respects to the entire expansion of the Lord's body.

Rabindranath Tagore:

A mind all logic
is like a knife all blade.
The hand that uses it will bleed.